Single Rural Houses Wicklow County Council

WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL SINGLE RURAL HOUSES

DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR NEW HOMES IN RURAL WICKLOW This rural house design guide is intended to provide guidance to prospective developers of single dwellings in rural Wicklow. The following information and illustrations are non-prescriptive and are general in nature; the guide does not provide a definitive ‘list’ of all dwelling styles or features that may be granted permission; nor does it set out all planning considerations relevant to an application for a single rural house. It is intended to be utilised as a tool to assist potential applicants, architects, landscape architects and planning agents in the areas of site selection, house positioning, layout and house design.

As this guide is principally concerned with house design and layout issues, it does not provide guidance on on-site effluent disposal FOREWORD systems, water supply and entrance / road safety requirements.

With respect to on-site water services, developments will be required to comply with Wicklow County Council’s “Policy for wastewater treatment and disposal systems for single houses (PE ≤ 10)” which is available on the County Council’s website and the applicable Drinking Water Regulations.

While this guide will address the aesthetics of entrance design, with respect to road safety standards, such as required sightlines, the most up to date road design manuals should be consulted. CONTENTS

Site Selection 01 Choosing where to build

House Position & Siting Principles of good siting, 02 managing contours, rural infill

HoUse Design Principles of good rural design, 03 scale, height, format, roof style, dormers, windows & materials

Ancillaries Boundaries, entrance design, 04 landscaping, outbuildings, energy efficiency, extensions & conversions

Appendices Acknowledgements, Photo & 05 Design accreditation INTRODUCTION

The overriding objective when considering building a house in rural Wicklow is to protect and conserve the beautiful landscape and environment we have inherited from other generations. The key to this is site selection and site layout, and the house should be absorbed as much as possible by the landscape, and this should be helped by landscaping. The house type and design also has an important impact. Thus houses that do not fit into the landscape due to their scale, unusual design features, colour, or materials that are non-traditional to that particular area will tend to stand out in close up and far distant views. Likewise boundary features and site entrances can add to the visual intrusion, and even landscaping with non-native species will cause a development to stick out in the general landscape.

The following paragraphs are to give guidance, but should always be read in the context that the overall design and siting should leave as small a trace on the landscape as possible.

0201 site selection 01 CHOOSING WHERE TO BUILD All new developments will be required to be sited in such a way that allows them to blend into the landscape and not form an overly visible or strident feature on the landscape. Therefore site selection is the most critical step in rural house design. Some sites, for a variety of reasons, may not be suitable for house building and even a well considered and designed house may not be permissible.

Where no site choice is available, it cannot be assumed that permission will be granted solely on the grounds that the applicant has a bona fide necessity to live at that location.

When selecting a site, the following criteria must be considered:

• The openness and visibility of the site in the surrounding landscape, the sensitivity or vulnerability of the landscape to new development and the existence of protected views or prospects in the area. In these regards, prominent and exposed sites should be avoided as well as those that would impinge on a protected landscape or view. Applications in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be required to be accompanied by a Visual Impact Assessment (more information on VIA is found in pages to follow);

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Glendasan mining village, Wicklow • Impacts on any other properties or dwellings – cognisance must be taken of potential impacts on existing proximate dwellings, particularly overlooking and overshadowing;

• The possibility of clustering the new development with other houses or manmade structures; however, care needs to be taken to avoid over-development in any location or ‘ribbon development’ ;

Avoid ribbon development, an almost continuous road frontage type development, where 5 or more houses exist on any one side of a given 250 metres of road frontage.

• The existence of heritage features on or near the site, such as protected habitats or archaeological features. A buffer zone between such features and any new development may be required, the extent of which will depend of the feature to be protected;

Avoid building in prominent open areas, or areas of protected views or landscapes. * = Undesirable design approach = Recommended design approach Proposals within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty may be required to be accompanied by a Visual Impact Assessment. In other landscape areas, the planning authority may require the submission of a Visual Impact Assessment, where a proposed development is likely to affect a particularly scenic or sensitive landscape. A Visual Impact Assessment (VIA) should include the following:

- An evaluation of the visibility and the prominence of the proposed development in its immediate environs and in the wider landscape; this assessment should include the erection of profiles of the house and / or the production of photomontages of the proposed development from clearly identified vantage points - An evaluation of impacts on any listed views / prospects and an assessment of vegetation / land cover type in the area (with particular regard to commercial forestry plantations which may be felled thus altering character / visibility).

02 House POSITION & siting 02 READING THE LANDSCAPE New houses shall be suitably positioned on site to make maximum use of screening available either from the land form itself or from existing tree cover. Positioning in a sheltered location not only aids visual integration in the landscape, but also provides benefits to the house in terms of protection from the elements and improved privacy.

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD SITING:

Houses shall not be above a ridgeline or so positioned to break the Houses located in the middle of sites / fields, distant from boundaries will skyline or to appear highly visible or dominant in the landscape; not be considered acceptable – houses should be ‘tucked into’ existing field boundaries;

The house should be positioned to maximise daylight and solar gain – 30% energy savings can be achieved if the house is oriented within 15° of south, provided its main living areas are arranged to avail of passive solar gains (refer to the ‘Development & Design Standards’ of the Wicklow County Development Plan); 03 Avoid houses breaking the skyline.

15° 15°

SUNPATH

winter winter winter 04 summer summer summer Passive design angled towards the sun with large openings to maximise solar gain. A MANAGING CONTOURS

On sloping sites, houses will normally be required to be built into the slope of the site, so that the finished floor level of the house is not more than 0.15m above the existing ground level to the front of the house. However, deep excavations should also be avoided as these in themselves B can cause a scar on the landscape. Where steeply sloping sites cannot be avoided, design solutions must be considered to minimise the impact, including for example the use of stepped or split level housing.

IMAGES OF MANAGING CONTOURS:

A C On sloping sites, the principal axis of the house should ideally have stepped floor levels reflecting the contours.

B Where excavation cannot be avoided, narrow plan houses with minimised cut and fill are recommended. Excavated soil can be redistributed as naturalistic landscape mounds.

C D Avoid deep plan over scaled houses set on large platforms with urban planting schemes.

D Avoid unsuitable dwelling styles with parking to the front. Absence of natural planting with excavated soil not graded to suit site contours. RURAL INFILL

Where the proposed development site currently forms part of the site C of an existing dwelling (i.e. it is proposed to subdivide an existing plot), the following considerations must be taken on board:

A The site must be large enough to comfortably accommodate the existing and additional house(s) and their associated facilities such as independent gardens, car parking, effluent disposal facilities etc.

B i) The new house(s) should be so positioned on site to have a ‘relationship’ with the existing structures. ii) In this regard, the end result should not be two (or more) distinct houses sitting at the opposite ends of the same site or a new house directly behind an existing one. iii) Consideration must be given to clustering or the creation of courtyard type development, reminiscent of a vernacular farmstead layout.

C The new house should not result in adverse impacts on the amenities (e.g privacy, light) of adjacent properties.

B i) B ii) B iii)

main road Site divided by hedging creating two distinct spaces. Shared courtyard. 05 House design 03 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS High quality design will be required for all sites and the design of any house will be required to be developed taking cognisance of the site location and characteristics and prevalent style of dwellings in the area; however, this does not mean that a poor house design will be considered because similar inappropriate designs have been permitted in the same area in the past. Designs lifted from another site and from a formulaic ‘pattern book’ will not be accepted, nor will poor historical imitations.

Designs should reflect traditional rural house design form and concepts, but contemporary interpretations of traditional styles are acceptable where the site can accommodate and suitably absorb the design.

Design proposals should respect the characteristics of the site and its environs by working with, rather than against natural features, such as boundaries, contours and flora.

06 DWELLING SCALE

As a result of modern demands for larger houses and Building Regulations which require higher ceiling height, rural dwellings have become larger in scale. However, insufficient care has been taken in mitigating the impact of this larger scale and many new dwellings appear very out of scale with surrounding traditional buildings and with the landscape itself. In this regard, dwellings This house’s scale is disproportionate to the site This house is appropriately scaled for the site should be sized according to the current and future needs of the occupant.

A large dwelling will require a large site and needs to be set within a ‘large landscape’. An area characterised by small field patterns and low level vegetation is unlikely to be suitable for a large dwelling which will dominate the area. However, where existing vegetation is mature and abundant and the views are long, there may be scope for a larger dwelling. Consider the scale, mass, external finishes and context of the proposed dwelling and its effect on dwellings in close proximity.

Consideration must also be paid to other dwellings that may be in close proximity to the proposed development site. A new dwelling that does not respect the existing scale and vernacular in an area or results in impacts on surrounding dwellings with regard to overlooking or overshadowing will not be permitted.

07 08 Appropriately scaled houses with simple dominant form near Arklow, County Wicklow. PRINCIPLES OF GOOD RURAL DESIGN

05 09 AVOID Bespoke design responding to site contours in an innovative manner. • Large excavation to accommodate house. • Absence of natural landscaping. Exposing the site to the elements increasing weathering and heat loss. • Completely circling the house with hard surfaced areas / paths – where possible, planting should be brought right up to the house. • Suburban house designs and planting schemes.

0510 Contemporary extension to rural cottage adapting site contours into the design.

• Locate house on flatter ground on the site, reducing excavation.

• Use internal floor changes to absorb contours of the site. 11 • Tuck house into the site boundary allowing the landscape to protect from natural elements. Traditional-style cottage using planting as protection. Hollywood, County Wicklow • Localised planting close to the house to absorb the development into the local landscape. DWELLING HEIGHT

The majority of new rural dwellings in County Wicklow in the last 20 years have been single storey or dormer bungalows. In many cases, the sensitivity of the landscape allows only for a single storey dwelling, but where additional height can be absorbed, the majority of applicants have proposed a dormer style rather than a 2-storey dwelling often in the belief that the passage through the planning system would be easier with a dormer bungalow than a 2-storey house. Well designed dormer bungalows are hard to achieve, as the style of windows and roof mass often distort the shape of the house and form incongruous features. Generally, a high quality 2-storey house will be preferred to a lower quality dormer bungalow, the key parameters being the ability of the site and landscape to absorb the house.

DWELLING FORM/SHAPE

The key requirement for rural houses is that they be absorbed by the landscape. Dwellings should thus blend in and not dominate the local landscape, or stick out by reason of scale, form, or detail. Dwellings should be simple in form and shape and an excessive number of block shapes and heights, roof pitches, add- ons, wings, protruding windows (such as bay windows), porches, conservatories etc should be avoided. The main body of the house should be the dominant element and be clearly distinguishable, and if necessary, one or a number of smaller, suitably designed projections attached to the main house may be provided to break up the overall mass of the structure.

‘Deep plan’ houses (i.e. houses that are two rooms ‘deep’ with a central dividing corridor) should be avoided, as this format overly constrains the options for the format, design, roof style and glazing layout of the house and also results in poor use of natural lighting.

While symmetry is not required, houses should be well ‘balanced’. This will mean that any projections to the main body of the house will require to be sensitively designed and located and not cause the house to look ‘lop-sided’. NARROW PLAN DOUBLE DEEP PLAN

This design encourages a good ratio of glass to masonry, efficient light Only 50% of the house can benefit from solar gain and light penetration. penetration, potential extensions and a 30% reduction in heating costs from solar gain.

SUNPATH

winter winter

summer summer

Traditional flat-fronted narrow design form with naturalised planting Avoid double deep dormer designs with PVC clad dormer windows absorbing the design. and suburban gardens. DWELLING SHAPE EXAMPLES

Recommended dwelling shapes.

Doubled and slipped Valley roof Long 2 Storey Simple gable roof

Narrow plan hipped roof Simple gable roof and tin/slate lean to Dormer windows extending Lean to upwards out of main walls

Generally, the following characteristics should be integrated into a new dwelling - low eaves - 35-55 degree roof pitch - sturdy and solid - narrow plan - vertical emphasis to gables - flat fronted

Cross gabled DWELLING SHAPE EXAMPLES

Avoid suburban dwelling forms; awkward scales, wide gables, eaves over 55°, over-sails, PVC cladding, ornate finishings.

Eroded roof Ornate porch/pillars Steep Swiss roof Half porch type

Large glass portico Clerestory roof Flat roof unless carefully designed Mansard roof

Salt box roof Recessed porch Projecting twin gables & bay windows Large roof to wall ratio, excessive amount of dormers and skylights ROOF STYLE

House formats should be avoided that require excessive roofing – i.e. the ratio of ‘roof to wall’ needs careful consideration. Where an appropriate building format is used, this problem should not arise; however, deep plan bungalows or bungalows with large dormer spaces tend to have excessively large roofs and therefore appear ‘unbalanced’. This should be addressed by breaking up the roof mass, for example, by creating a ‘valley roof’ that will 12 effectively halve the size of the roof.

Modern houses tend to include roof edges that significantly ‘oversail’ the external walls, a feature which gives the roof more ‘dominance’ over the main structure of the house, thereby weakening its appearance and rendering the appearance out of keeping with traditional Irish rural house features. Eaves overhang should be minimised or mitigated by good design.

Simple eaves with dormer window extended out of the facade in matching render. Symmetrical rooflights recommended to reduced building scale. To make new rural houses as unobtrusive as possible and in keeping with traditional rural houses, roofs will normally be required to be tiled or slated in dark colours such as blue / black or dark brown.

DORMER STYLE Where appropriate, or on screened facades, well scaled contemporary dormers may be acceptable.

Where a dormer style house is selected as the best option, this should be in the format of a 1 ½ storey dwelling, with dormer windows extending upwards out of the main walls of the house, rather than the provision of a number of ‘break-through’ type dormer windows, as these tend to require a larger mass of roof. The use of rooflights to mid-roof dormers will be preferred and these should be so constructed to sit flush with the roof slates.

Avoid box verges and eaves and the use of cladding. Ideally the dormer window should be connected to the facade and not protruding from the roof. WINDOWS & DOORS

Careful consideration must be given to the ‘solid-to-void’ relationship on a dwelling façade i.e. the relationship of solid wall to openings. The arrangement of openings should be kept simple and should be normally of the same size and style across the entire façade. Openings should be placed around the ‘central’ axis of the façade and should normally be symmetrical unless a high quality design allows otherwise.

Windows should generally be vertical in emphasis and in proportion to the rest of the house. Oversized feature windows to certain living spaces are permissible, but only where the length to width ratio is appropriate and Sash window. the integrity of the overall design and balance of the house is not compromised.

Over-elaborate door styles should be avoided e.g. overly glazed panels or fan lights, as should large and fussy porches or canopies, particularly those including mock classical detailing and pillars.

Drop sill with vertical divides.

Examples of porch layouts using the same material as the dwelling.

13 Timber door with painted finish. Modern door in traditional vernacular. Simple matching openings across the entire facade complete with a porch of the same finish. Dunlavin, County Wicklow. MATERIALS

Rural houses in County Wicklow are typically rendered and painted white / off white and this will be the normal finish required for new rural houses. Dashing with a coloured chip / pebble will not be permitted.

Brick, timber and metal finishes are not common and have only appeared in the last 30 years. The use of stone in domestic scale buildings would have been uncommon, although there are some localised exceptions, for example, areas surrounding quarries e.g. Ballyknockan. New houses will be required to 14 utilise finishes common to and suited to the area. However, in locations where alternatives to painted Rural vernacular roof and eaves. render are typical or where a site is highly screened, alternative materials may be considered.

The use at an appropriate scale of timber, metal or stone features on a mainly rendered house to provide visual interest is welcomed, subject to correct positioning of the feature element and the use of the highest quality and appropriate materials. Brick will not normally be considered in any rural location but as set out above, where the site is well screened or very unobtrusive, flexibility in materials permitted will be afforded.

15 Required external pipework and cabling associated with modern technology should be subtly located Uncommon materials are adequately screened. and should be coloured or painted to allow it is blend in with the façade.

Ornate fascias, patterned metal work, reconstituted stone / cladding or pre-cast features shall not be permitted.

16 17 Considered balance of traditional and contemporary design. 18 04 ancillaries ENTRANCE DESIGN & DRIVEWAYS

New entrances shall be required to comply with current engineering safety standards with respect to sightlines and gradient and set back sufficiently to allow a car to pull off 19 the road while a gate is being opened or closed. 0.8m Naturalistic boundary planting and stone wall. Ballinaclash, County Wicklow The appearance of entrances shall be modest and suitable Example of a basic splayed entrance. to the rural context and grandiose entrances with high wing walls, pillars and elaborate gates will not be permitted.

Where feasible, the location of the entrance and driveway 5m 20 should be offset from the location of the dwelling so as to Splayed timber fence entrance with mature trees. retain the roadside boundary to the front of the house. County Wicklow 6-8m

In highly scenic locations, applicants may be required to leave driveways only roughly surfaced to give a natural appearance.

21 All driveways shall provide sufficient area for car parking New mounded entrance retaining existing planting and turning on site. However, large hard paved car parking Avoid over-elaborate suburban entrances, precast walling, pillars and ornaments and moat. County Wicklow / turning areas, particularly to the front of the site, should be avoided.

Completely circling the house with hard surfaced areas / paths should be avoided – where possible, the garden 22 should be brought right up to the house. Timber fence with native planting and vernacular iron gate. County Wicklow WALLS / BOUNDARIES

The design of walls and boundaries, particularly those along public road frontages, shall be suitable to the rural location. In the first instance, existing hedges and trees lining boundaries should be maintained. However, where they require to be removed for sightline or other reasons, they shall be replaced by a similar hedge of native species interspersed with suitable native trees. Long stretches of solid walls or railings will not be permitted, notwithstanding their perceived design quality. Sod-and-stone banks and dense hedges behind roadside drainage ditches are the prevalent traditional roadside boundary in County Wicklow – it will be a normal requirement of permission that such boundaries be provided or reinstated.

Existing side or rear boundaries, particularly mature field boundaries, should be maintained. Where new boundaries are required, they should not comprise solid walls or long straight, dense lines of evergreen trees. Instead clusters of trees at strategic locations around the site, which will appear more natural in time, will be preferred.

23 Contemporary design with well thought-out boundary to absorb the design into the landscape. LANDSCAPING

All applicants for rural dwellings will be required to submit landscaping proposals. Landscaping schemes should normally be prepared by a landscape architect or other suitably qualified professional.

To assimilate the house into the landscape, additional naturalistic planting is recommended along boundaries or the provision of strategically located clusters within the site. A mixture of 24 native hedge species (such as whitethorn, blackthorn, whitebeam, holly and gorse), deciduous and evergreen tree species should be used. Tree species planted shall include mountain ash, silver birch, willow, oak, sycamore, larch, spruce and pine. On exposed sites consider using species native to the immediate area to guarantee growth and shelter.

In visually problematic sites, the use of landscaping mounds may be required.

Landscaping including tree planting brought close to the house can reduce its impact and assist in integrating the house into the site. Planting should cut across the path of the wind and should be sited to make use of and improve natural shelter features such as ridges and rocky outcrops.

25 26 27 OUTBUILDINGS ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The number of detached out-buildings on a rural The planning authority will favourably consider site shall be kept to the minimum necessary proposals where attention has been paid to and permission may be refused for excessive ensuring that the house is designed in a manner additional garages or stores where the need to ensure compliance with the highest energy for same cannot be clearly demonstrated. Out- efficiency standards. Guidance on this matter buildings should be located close to the main is set out in Chapter Volume 4 (1) Development house and should be positioned to replicate a Design Standards of the Wicklow County rural vernacular / farmyard format. Two-storey Development Plan. garages or garages in excess of 40sqm will not normally be permitted.

28 Dutch barn outbuilding conversion. County Wicklow. 29 EXTENSIONS TO EXISTING RURAL HOUSES

The design of an extension should be sympathetic to the existing house. This does not mean that it has to exactly match the existing style, height and 30 31 finishes, but that it should complement the existing house and not look out of place.

A good extension is usually subservient to the main building i.e. extensions should be designed so that they look like extensions rather than a new house ‘attached’ to an old house. Extensions can reflect traditional aspects 32 33 of the existing building, but contemporary extensions can also serve to Contemporary extensions to rural cottages in County Wicklow. complement the existing building.

There are no hard and fast rules about the size of an extension, but it will be necessary to ensure that:

• The extension respects the size of the existing house; • The extension does not reduce the area of the garden to such a degree that it affects the usefulness of the garden; • The site is big enough to accommodate the extension as well as all the other facilities that a house requires e.g. effluent disposal system, car-parking area etc.

Use of a different material on the extension breaks up dwelling mass. EXTENSION SHAPE EXAMPLES

Examples of some of the preferred extension shapes. They should not dominate the existing structure. Avoid flat roofed extensions unless a contemporary approach has been designed by a professional.

Doubled and slipped Valley roof Long Lean to

Rear lean to extension with large openings Cross gabled ‘T’ rear extension contemporary flat roof

Extension linking to converted outbuilding Long extension ‘L’ shape pitched roof

* = Extension CONVERSIONS

Proposals for the conversion or reinstatement of existing buildings of substance in the countryside that are deemed worthy of retention by the Council will be considered favourably, providing they satisfy the following criteria:

• The original walls must be substantially intact. Buildings of a ruinous nature will not be appropriate. • Buildings should be of local, visual or historical interest and be constructed in traditional materials to justify retention and conservation; • Buildings must be physically capable of undergoing conversion and

their original appearance must be substantially retained. A structural 34 survey by a chartered engineer must be submitted as part of a planning Stable conversion. Newcastle, County Wicklow. application. • Works must be executed in a sensitive manner and retain architecturally important features whenever possible and make use of existing buildings and traditional and complementary building materials, techniques and specifications;

35 Restoration potential of cottage and outbuildings. Tinahely, County Wicklow.

05 appendices ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Written by: Sorcha Walsh Designed by: Paul Conlon Special Thanks: Aisling MacNamara Stephen Willoughby Bernadette Harvey Lucy Roche

Sketches, illustrations, photos and graphic design (unless otherwise noted) by Paul Conlon Special gratitude to all who kindly granted the use of material for their inclusion in this document.

PHOTO & DESIGN ACCREDITATIONS

01 Ballygonnell 13 Tornant House, Dunlavin. Wicklow 25 Farmhouse, Roundwood. C Corlett. 02 Carraignamweel House, Henchion+Reuter 14 Sweet Briar, Bray 26 Stone outbuilding, Wicklow 03 Glenealy 15 Pavillion, Enniskerry. Buckley Partnership 27 Retrofit, Wicklow. Renova 04 Out of the Blue. Mosart 16 Blake House, Blessington. Michael Kelly 28 White’s barn, Clonmannon. Chris Southgate 05 Brittas Bay. House7 17 Blake House, Blessington. Michael Kelly 29 Wicklow mountains, Calzean 06 Cottage in Wicklow. StudioRed 18 Carraignamweel House. Henchion+Reuter 30 Carraignamweel House. Henchion+Reuter 07 Arklow, Wicklow. Brian Donovan 19 Stone wall, Ballinaclash, Wicklow 31 Cottage refurbishment, Wicklow. D Bannon 08 Rural form, Wicklow. Emmet Duggan 20 Splayed entrance, Wicklow 32 Small extension Aughrim. Gerrard Hynes 09 House Slievebawnogue. Clancy Moore 21 Mounded entrance, Wicklow 33 Farm House, Manor Kilbride. Philip O’Reilly 10 S House, Enniskerry. FKL 22 Timber fencing, Wicklow 34 Leabeg House, Newcastle. Bernard J Burke 11 Cottage in Wicklow. StudioRed 23 Maytree. ODOS 35 Cottage Knockatomcoyle, Tinahely 12 Ty Gwyn, Dunbur, Wicklow. IDS 24 Out of the Blue. Mosart 36 Cow House Blessington. Michael Kelly Wicklow County Council

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